


doux-amer

by gerblinsssss



Category: OFF (Game)
Genre: And also really gay, Batterie - Freeform, Breaking the Fourth Wall, Comfort, Fluff, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I’m good at writing sad stuff okay, M/M, Okay I lied really angsty, Wholesome, kinda angsty, sad batter is sad, spoilers kind of?, vader eloha took the kids, we didn’t need it anyways, zach being a good friend
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-25
Updated: 2020-09-25
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:22:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26648962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gerblinsssss/pseuds/gerblinsssss
Summary: The Batter’s going through a tough time, so Zacharie steps in to help.
Relationships: The Batter & Zacharie, The Batter/Zacharie
Comments: 2
Kudos: 43





	doux-amer

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic, so the interactions between the boys are a little stiff, and the plot (if you can call it that) starts off pretty quickly. Regardless, I hope you like it!

Zacharie idly sits at his desk. It’s a slow day in the amusement park. This is a rare occurrence nowadays, considering the new circumstances that have arisen. The Batter, Pablo, and Zacharie are the only three people aware of the existence of the Player. This has ultimately made them realize that the Batter finally had no one to control him after the Player finished the game. As a result of the game’s completion, their world returned to normal; the zones, the guardians, and the people all fell back into a peaceful and safe state, unlike how it was during the playthrough. Additionally, the Batter has had free range, no longer being the Player’s puppet. He’s still getting ahold of how his emotions work, now that he has a mind completely of his own.

Zacharie thinks about them often, the Batter’s feelings. For some reason, he’s just so drawn to making sure that the Batter is happy and adjusting well. But as of right now, he’s sitting alone in his little blue office, re-counting his credits.

Or, he was.

Soon enough, the comfortable silence of his office is interrupted by the sound of approaching footsteps, making their way towards the entrance of his little pocket of quiet. All of a sudden, the aforementioned former puppet opens the heavy door, not stopping it from slamming against the wall.

“Hello, mi amigo. What brings you by?” Zacharie asks, tilting his head slightly.

“I need your help explaining something.” The Batter responds dryly, shoving his pale hands in his pockets.

“Of course. What do you need help with?”

It was then that Batter went silent. He stands there for a good five minutes, perfectly frozen. It’s rather odd to look at, and the atmosphere is turning for the tenser. 

Upon closer inspection, he looks— or is becoming— shaky. And eventually, he appears visibly upset. He’s biting his lip, subconsciously trying to think of how to phrase his sentence in a way that won’t make himself more distraught, which I’m sure many of the dear readers can relate to. However, Zacharie doesn’t yet know this.

“...Eloha has decided that I can’t see Hugo anymore. And I—“ his voice breaks. “—I want to know what this feeling is.”

Zacharie looks up in surprise, pushing back a few strands of black hair from the front of his toad mask. He hesitates before standing up and walking towards the taller man.

“Oh, Batter... I’m so sorry,” He says softly, “that’s truly awful.”

Zacharie puts a hand on Batter’s shoulder, in an attempt to console him. Batter fidgets at first, and lifts the brim of his cap slightly, as without the Player he’s developing more habits such as that. He raises it to where his four crimson eyes can be seen, large tears forming in them, and quickly averts his eyes from Zacharie. He really doesn’t want to look pitiable. Though, that effort is in vain. According to Zacharie, seeing a stoic man like that in such distress is disheartening at the least. It’s enough to make even Dedan feel guilty. 

“...It is. I’ve done so many regrettable things, but those actions... they weren’t my own. Of course my mission and my speech were mine, but,” he swallows, “I certainly didn’t want to hurt innocent people who were pure before interacting with me. I know I’m dangerous and cold, and the Player does not excuse my actions, but I just want to be able to spend time with my son—“

Suddenly, he’s pulled into a hug by the merchant. The Batter is caught off-guard, but at this point, the comfort of another person is welcome.

“Sad, amie. You’re sad, and reasonably so.” Zacharie quietly explains. “I’m so sorry.”

The Batter‘s eyes widen for the shortest of moments, now having a word for the reason his eyes are watering so badly. “Sad”, that’s right... he faintly remembers a time where he saw Zacharie feeling sad, because of the loss of Sucre; his best friend. Zacharie’s hug tightens. He hesitates, but ultimately decides that it wouldn’t hurt to hug back. He shakily wraps his arms around the stout ravenette. Zacharie’s... incredibly soft. Like, extremely soft. His sweater practically feels like a cloud, and his squishy body makes him very huggable. It’s... comforting. Comforting enough for him to let some more emotion out.

He chokes back a quiet sob, and soon starts to full-on cry. Zacharie maneuvers the both of them to a corner of the room so the Batter wouldn’t make him tumble over with his weight, still hugging tightly. It’s torture for him to see his friend like this, and knowing that he can’t make it better any time sooner just makes it worse. He sits in front of the Batter now, wiping the tears off of his face and softly hushing him.

“There there, dear friend... it pains me deeply to see you like this. I wish I could make the hurt instantly disappear for you.” He says. He tilts his head slightly in an empathetic manner, his eyes visible through his mask. 

“Thanks... that means a lot, Zacharie,” the Batter says, looking down at him. His eyes and the skin around them are red from how hard he’s been crying, and so is his nose. Poor guy...

Zacharie clutches the heart on his sweater. He feels so much for the Batter. No father should be kicked out of his child’s life for something he couldn’t control. He dwells on this a little longer, but then realizes something. The comforting, the need to make the Batter happy... it’s no surprise at this point that he has strong feelings for the guy, right? He’s subconsciously known all along, but he’s never really addressed himself about it. Well, this is certainly a wake up call. But now isn’t the time to mentally trail off. Batter needs his support right now. 

He clings to the Batter once more, resting his head in the crook of the man’s neck, and ultimately failing to keep this interaction at least slightly professional. Zacharie’s impulse control, in one word, is shit. The Batter seemingly doesn’t mind, though. He just wraps his arms around Zacharie again, gently rocking back and forth in attempt to calm himself down a little more. But it still isn’t enough, unfortunately. This is a soul-crushing situation, being kept from your child after having someone kill him through you in a previous miserable run. And Zacharie is aware that the Batter will need some sort of good news or a distraction that’ll take his mind off of it or make him a little happier. He thinks about it for a while, then hesitates before speaking.

“Batter, mon amie, do you love your wife?” Zacharie asks.

The Batter stays silent for a long time, as if contemplating his response. When he finally answers, his voice is raw and strained. “I love her for giving me my son. But I don’t want to be her husband. I don’t love her like that anymore.”

Zacharie nods, now understanding that it would be slightly less awkward if he were to spill his feelings, now that the Batter is, well, divorced, for a lack of a better word. It still wouldn’t be a very appropriate time to confess, but Batter really needs a distraction, and it isn’t really a secret anyways given how much Zacharie flirts with the guy. Zacharie takes a deep breath, trying to gather up courage and thinking about how to word his small declaration of love. He sits up, and (begrudgingly) pulls himself away from the Batter’s embrace to face him.

“Just know that I care for you deeply, Batter. So very much. And I will do my utmost best to ensure that you are both happy and with your son again. We’ll work this out, the both of us. Together.” Zacharie says, looking up at the upset athlete, holding both of his calloused hands.

Batter gives a faint, awkward smile (as he hasn’t quite gotten the hold of happy facial expressions yet), and his eyes start to well up again. It can be assumed that this time it’s a good thing, though. He yet again pulls Zacharie into his embrace, resting his head on top of the shorter male’s.

He takes a deep breath, his second wave of crying slowly coming to a halt. For once all day, the Batter is thinking about something that isn’t Eloha and how she’s trying to sever Hugo’s relationship with him. Despite the discourse waging in his mind and life, he’s starting to see a clearing; a pocket of light that gives him hope that it’ll end up okay, and as cliché as it sounds, it could be inferred that this little pocket of light is Zacharie.

The Batter mutters a “thank you” and gently sighs, now feeling at the very least a little better. Zacharie looks up in the slightest shock, realizing that the Batter’s mood has shifted just from his little confession.

He turns around so that he’s facing the Batter, and lifts his head out from under the athlete’s. He figures he could keep this emotional uplift going.  
“Wow, Batter. I can’t believe you just now realized my affections. After all this time? And discounts?? I’m offended, mi amore.” Zacharie feigns an offended gasp.

The Batter lets out some shaky laughter, not quite better, but certainly getting there. He decides that Zacharie’s flirting is welcome, for the time being. It’s not as annoying as usual.

“You know I’m very dedicated to getting my work completed, I had no time for your foolish pining.” The Batter says, cracking a smile.

The both of them are giggling like giddy children for the first time in god knows how long. After their seemingly ceaseless laughter dies down, the Batter yawns. What an emotional rollercoaster this has been, it must’ve worn him out. The masked one of the two stands up and stretches. He offers his hand to his dear batter. 

“You’re tired. Come on, let’s go somewhere to rest; I promise I’m a good cuddler. You’re a big spoon, right?”

The Batter rolls his eyes and takes the merchant’s hand. He stands up, towering a good half foot over him. Admittedly, Zacharie’s 5’4 on a good day, so in other words: the Batter is tall as hell compared to the guy. But alas, this is getting sidetracked. 

The Batter takes another deep breath, to ensure that he’s at least a little more calm and emotionally stable. He looks at Zacharie, who gives him a small smile with his eyes.

“Okay. Let’s go.”

They begin walking out of the small blue office, Batter taking Zacharie’s hand in his. He realizes that if he’s ever sad again, he can always count on Zacharie to cheer him up, and he will do the same.


End file.
